Download Introduction to Hinduism

“There is only one God, but endless are his aspects and endless
are his names”
INTRODUCTION TO HINDUISM
THE VAST
MAJORITY OF
HINDUS LIVE
IN INDIA AND
NEPAL
THE GANGES RIVER
Falling from
Its source of
Vishnu’s feet
onto Shiva’s
head and out
from his hair,
the water of
the Ganges is
sacred enough
to purify all
sins.
WHAT IS HINDUISM?
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the
world.
 The religion developed in India, taking much
from the religion practiced by the Aryans, a
group who had invaded the country from the
north around 1500 B.C.
 Hinduism is a polytheistic religion.
 The Hindu religion developed from the Vedas,
or the Books of Knowledge.
 This book also came from the Aryan priests and
contains complicated rituals and hymns.

WHAT DO HINDUS BELIEVE?
 Hindus
believe in many gods .
 All gods are part of a supreme spirit–
Brahman
 These are the main three gods known to
Hindus around the world:
 Brahman – the Creator
 Shiva - Preserver
 Vishnu - Destroyer
WHAT DO HINDUS BELIEVE?
 Reincarnation
– you are continually born
into this world lifetime after lifetime
 Karma – spiritual impurity due to actions
keeps us bound to this world (good and
bad)
 Ultimate goal of life – to reunite with the
divine, becoming as one with Brahman
KARMA & DHARMA
Karma: “action” or “deeds”
 Every action produces a Justified effect
based on its moral worthiness.
Karma determines all the particular
circumstances and Situations of one’s life.
Dharma: ethical duty based on the divine
order of reality. The word is the closest
equivalent to “religion.”
HOW DOES HINDUISM DIRECT
LIFE IN THIS WORLD?
Respect for all life – vegetarian
 Human life as supreme:
 Four “stations” of life (Caste) - priests &
teachers, nobles & warriors, merchant class,
servant class
 Four stages of life – student, householder,
retired, renunciation
 Four duties of life – pleasure, success, social
responsibilities, religious responsibilities

REINCARNATION
Samsara is the wheel of rebirth which means the soul is
reborn
from one life form to another.
People may be reincarnated at a higher or lower level of
existence depending on their karma from their present life.
People may be reborn as plants or animals or they may be
elevated to a higher caste as a human.
Death is not final for Hindus as they expect to be reborn
many times.
WHAT ARE THE SPIRITUAL
PRACTICES OF HINDUISM?


The Four Yogas - seeking union with the divine:
 Karma Yoga – the path of action through selfless
service (releases built up karma without building up
new karma)
 Jnana Yoga – the path of knowledge
(understanding the true nature of reality and the
self)
 Raja Yoga – the path of meditation
 Bhakti Yoga – the path of devotion
Guru – a spiritual teacher, especially helpful for Jnana
and Raja yoga
HOW DO HINDUS WORSHIP?

Bhakti Yoga is seeking union with the divine
through loving devotion to manifest deities
 In



the home (household shrines)
 In the Temples (priests officiate)
Puja – making offerings to and decorating the deity
images
Darsan – “seeing” the deity (not idol worship)
Prasad – taking the divine within your own being
through eating of food shared with the deity
CASTE SYSTEM
Four major castes
Brahmin : priests
Kshatriya: warriors and administrators
Vaistrya: farmers, merchants, teachers, artisans
Sudras: servants,laborers
WHO DO HINDUS WORSHIP? –
THE MAJOR GODS OF THE HINDU
PANTHEON
Brahma, the creator god
All these deities are but
Manifest forms (attributes
and functions) of the
impersonal Brahman
THE TWO MOST POPULAR
GODS
SHIVA
VISHNU
AVATARS OF VISHNU
Krishna
Rama
WHO DO HINDUS WORSHIP? –
THE MAJOR GODS OF THE HINDUISM
Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including:
Rama (featured in the Ramayana)
Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)
(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha, respectively)
WHO DO HINDUS WORSHIP? –
THE MAJOR GODS OF THE HINDU
Shiva, god of constructive destruction
(the transformer)
Appears as Shiva Nataraj,
lord of the dance of creation…
and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha
(the elephant headed remover of obstacles)
BANARAS - HINDU’S HOLY CITY
Pilgrims come from all over to
bathe in the Ganges.
Countless Hindus come to
Banaras to die.
It has 1500 temples, most of
them devoted to Shiva.
It is a gathering place for the
religiously learned and their
disciples.
SACRED COW OF INDIA
FESTIVALS AND HOLY DAYS
no set day of the week is holy-each days has its possibilities
Religious festivals may be solar or lunar-lunar is preferred
In order to keep festivals consistent, an additional lunar month is added to the
calendar about every three years.
Some numbered days of the month are more important than others. There are
125 special days in the Hindu year.
FESTIVAL: DIWALI
Diwali: “Row of lights
Takes place in Oct. or Nov.
It is a series of five festivals
Lights are floated on small rafts
If the candle remains lit, good luck
will follow.
GANDHI: THE FATHER OF INDIA
For Gandhi, social concern was deeply
rooted in his conviction of the
Sacredness of life.
Gandhi believed that human beings should
strive to live as simply as possible since
overindulgence often meant that others
may have to do without their basic needs.
Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu
fanatic on January 30, l948 as India was
gaining its independence.
ONE OCEAN, MANY NAMES